SYNTAСTIC MEANS OF SPEECH INFLUENCE IN THE ENGLISH COMMERCIAL DISCOURSE OF SOUTH AFRICAN COMPANIES

Abstract

The article examines the syntactic means of speech influence in the commercial discourse. The goal of the study is to describe the linguistic means of the compositional-dynamic and expres- sive syntax that form the speech-influencing potential of South African companies’ commercial texts. The work is relevant due to enhancing the mutually beneficial cooperation within the BRICS countries in the field of international commerce. The main method of research is a critical discourse analysis. The research involves analysing more than 50 commercial texts that become the object of pragmatic and psycholinguistic analysis for the first time. The phenomena of speech influence, per- suasion and manipulation in the interaction of business actors in order to get mutual commercial benefits are considered. The study results in a comprehensive description of the most frequently used expressive syntactic means in the context of pragmatic analysis. Speech influence manifests itself in the potential of syntactic means in the English commercial discourse that can enable busi- ness partners to create a situational context by setting their intentions and taking into account the addressee’s factors actualisation. The research concludes that the expressive syntactic means of speech influence in the commercial discourse can be used in synergy with other linguistic, extralin- guistic and symbolic tools to enhance the effect of their interaction for achieving the communicative goal and the strategic results in business.

Keywords

• business communication
• commercial discourse
• speech influence
• expressive syntactic means